Fire-escape



(No Modl.)

A. F. BEDELL.

\ FIRE ESCAPE.

Patented Aug. 14, 1888.

Map/5555 6% N. PETERS, Phntn-ulhognphor. Washington D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR F. BEDELL, OF LOWVELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

$PIEECIPIC'ATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 387,619, dated August 14, 1888.

Application filed April 26, 1888. Serial No. 271,922.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR F. BEDELL, of Lowell, in the county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Fire-Escapes, of which the followingisa description suflicientl y full, clear, and exact to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which said invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification,in which Figure l is a perspective view of my improved fire escape, a portion of the ladder being represented as broken off; and Fig. 2, a side elevation showing the escape in use, the wall of the building and window-sill being shown in vertical section.

Like letters and figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in the diflerent figures of the drawings.

My invention relates to that class of fireescapes which are portable; and it consists in certain novel features, as hereinafter fully set forth and claimed, the object being to produce a simpler, cheaper, and more effective device of this character than is now in ordinary use.

The nature and operation of the improvement will be readily understood by all eonversaut with such matters from the following explanation:

in the drawings, A represents the fire-escape considered as a Whole; B, the wall of the building; G, the window casing, and H the window-sill.

The escape consists, essentially, of two flat metallic plates or bars, a: w, of a length equal to or slightly greater than the width of the window-sill H, connections for said bars, and a rope ladder secured to the outer ends thereof. One end of each bar 0cv is bent or curved downwardly to form hooks 11, adapted to fit over the ordinary bead, m, on the window-sill when in use, their ends being drawn down to a sharp edge, 2, to adapt them to enter the woodwork of the sill and hold the bars in position. The bars 00 are connected by metallic braces d, and are each provided with two holes at 49 in their outer ends for receiving the ends of ropesf It, said ropes being secured" therein by knots 45. Rungs D, consisting of iron rods flattened at each end and provided with holes b t, adapted to receive the ropes h f, are disposed on said ropes, be-

(No model.)

ing supported or held in position by knots w. A longitudinal slot, 54, is formed in each of the bars as, and fitted to work in each of said slots there is a slide, 59, having an inwardlyprojecting jaw, 53, at its lower end. Projecting upwardly from the end portions of each of the bars (I, opposite the slides 59, there are flanges 55, and fitted to rotate in said flanges, but not to be withdrawn therefrom, are rods 50. These rods are centrally screw-threaded and pass through screw-threaded holes in the slides 59.

In the use of my improvement the bars m are placed upon the window-sill so that the same will be embraced between the hooks '0 and jaws 53, after which the screws 50 are turned to cause the sharp edges .2 of said hooks to be forced into the casing O, and the bars to be secured to the sill in a manner that will be readily understood by all conversant with such matters without a more explicit description. The ladder formed by the ropes h f and rungs D is then dropped from the window, assuming the vertical position shown in Fig. 2, when by utilizing the ladder in the ordinary manner a person can readily descend to the ground.

I find that by using two ropes, fh, at each end of the rungs D, as described, the ladder is prevented from swaying when in use, thus rendering the bars or less liable to become accidentally detached from the window, and keeping the rungs in a horizontal position.

It will be readily seen that when the apparatus is not in use the ladder may be wound around the braces d and stored in any convenient position in the room or elsewhere.

Having thus explained my invention, what I claim is- In a fire-escape ol' the character described, the bars a: :17, each provided with a central slot, 54, hook 22, and holes 49, the braces (I connecting the bars cc, the slides 59, respectively fitted to work in the slots 54, and provided with jaws 53 and screws 50, two ropes, h f, provided with knots w, and secured by knots 45 in the outer end of each of said bars ac, and the rungs I), provided with two holes, I) t, in each end, said rungs being disposed on said ropes, all constructed, combined, and arranged to operate substantially as specified.

ARTHUR F. BEDELL.

Witnesses:

E. M. SPINNEY, O. M. SHAW. 

